LOWELL -- As part of their investigation into the alleged theft of scrap metal by Lowell Regional Water Utility employees, Lowell police are probing whether utility employees turned any of the metal in to two Lowell scrap outfits and kept the proceeds, The Sun has learned.

A Lowell police detective recently pulled receipts from H. Betty & Son Inc. on Rock Street, according to James Betty, a co-owner of the scrap-metal facility.

Police also asked a former Water Utility manager whether employees have taken metals, especially copper or brass, to either Betty's or Max Levine Co. Inc., on Tanner Street, the former employee told The Sun.

The investigation is expanding beyond confirmed trips made by utility employees to Haverhill Steel in Haverhill, as well as at least one trip by utility Foreman Geoff Whitman to Granite State Salvage in Hudson, N.H.

Most pipes connecting water lines in city streets to homes are made of copper. The fittings for many of the copper pipes in the city are made of brass, as are the water meters in the city.

Betty said he is unsure if Water Utility employees have visited Betty's, but said his facility provided the information police sought. He did not tell The Sun the time period of the receipts sought.

"Whatever they wanted, they got," Betty said of the police.

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According to city ordinance, scrap-metal facilities must keep all receipts and provide them to law enforcement if requested.

Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, the findings of which are expected to be turned over to a Middlesex County grand jury.

Last week, The Sun reported that JoAnn Gitschier, the former longtime office manager of the Water Utility, had been summonsed to appear before a grand jury Tuesday. Due to a scheduling conflict, Gitschier instead met with police last Monday as part of their investigation.

Gitschier said Lowell Police Capt. Jack Webb and Lt. Frank Rouine asked her about Betty's and Levine's operations during the interview.

"I told them that dating back years ago, employees would go to Betty's and Levine's," Gitschier told The Sun.

Gitschier also said she does not recall ever getting a turn-in for scrap metal taken to Betty's and Levine's.

An October 2011 check from Haverhill Steel to the city is the first turn-in by utility employees for any kind of scrap metal that Gitschier remembers during her tenure, which stretched back 20-plus years. She retired in August.

An employee at Levine's, who did not give his name, on Thursday referred all questions about possible utility employee visits to the facility, or receipts, to police.

The possibility of visits by utility employees to Betty's or Levine's was also raised during the gas-theft trial of former utility employee Ronald Mercier.

Roland Milliard, Mercier's attorney, asked Whitman under oath if he had visited Betty's. Whitman testified he had been to the facility and scrapped iron there.

Asked separately if he had scrapped copper or brass there, Whitman answered "possibly" to both those questions.

Milliard also asked Whitman about whether he had been to Levine's. Whitman said he had been to Levine's and turned in items there.

But Whitman denied ever turning any city scrap metal in to Levine's or anywhere else. Instead, he said the scrap metal he has turned in came from various side jobs.

Whitman has not returned multiple requests from The Sun for comment.

Milliard told The Sun he asked Whitman the questions about Betty's and Levine's because of information he obtained before the trial.

"It was information provided to me that he was taking city-owned salvage metals there and was selling them," Milliard said. "I had a good-faith basis to ask those questions."

Milliard also questioned Whitman on the stand about a $1,005 receipt Whitman received from Granite State Salvage in December 2011 for copper and brass.

Whitman denied the receipt was for city scrap metal, but as The Sun previously reported, two employees at the Water Department say they saw Whitman loading city scrap metal into his personal vehicle the day he received the receipt.

In addition to Whitman, utility Foreman Charles Coughlin was also assigned an attorney because of potential Fifth Amendment issues if he was called to testify during Mercier's trial.

"One of the issues I intended to ask him about was scrap metal not being turned in to the city," Milliard said of Coughlin.

Coughlin was not called to testify. He did not return a Sun request for comment last week.

It is unclear if police have requested receipts from either Haverhill Steel or Granite State Salvage.

Paul Goldberg, the owner of Haverhill Steel, referred a recent request for information to his attorney, but then declined to give his attorney's name or contact information.

In a previous interview, Goldberg said the Water Department is a regular customer at his facility, but declined to let a Sun reporter review any receipts for Water Department turn-ins.

Utility Executive Director Daniel Lahiff, who lives in Haverhill, did not respond to a request for comment.

Granite State Salvage Owner Frank Lacoshus did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Goldberg of Haverhill Steel also told The Sun the city's Wastewater Utility has an account at Haverhill Steel but did not provide any further details.

Wastewater Utility Executive Director Mark Young confirmed last Thursday his department takes scrap metal to the facility, but said he would get back to The Sun with further details about whether the department keeps a credit or receives checks from Haverhill Steel. He did not do so by the end of the week.

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